Yearly Archives: 2013

How Does Bankruptcy Affect My Credit Rating?

 09 Oct 2013
credit report and bankruptcy

Your credit report is maintained by one of two major credit rating agencies in Canada: Equifax and Trans Union. When you apply for a loan, whether a credit card or a mortgage, your lender will review your credit report. This report contains information about whether or not you have unpaid…

(14) commentsRead more

Tell Your Bankruptcy Trustee Everything

 07 Oct 2013
canada bankruptcy law

Bankruptcy is your chance to start over. In exchange for your debts being ‘discharged’ you give up your assets and make a monthly payment during your bankruptcy. This is the cost to you of eliminating your debts once and for all so you can begin to rebuild your credit and…

(24) commentsRead more

Creditors Meeting: What Questions Will They Ask Me?

 02 Oct 2013
creditors meeting and bankruptcy in Canada

Question: A creditors’ meeting has been called and I wonder what questions they can and cannot ask. Can they only ask about the past and where the money was spent before bankruptcy? Can they ask about personal expenses such as medical expenses and what drugs I am paying for? Do…

Leave a commentRead more

Does A Bankruptcy Trustee Seize Your Bank Account?

 30 Sep 2013
bankruptcy bank account

When you file for bankruptcy, your trustee is required to seize your assets and distribute them to your creditors.  While technically any money in your bank account is an asset to be surrendered to your bankruptcy trustee, in most cases your trustee will not automatically seize your bank account if…

(6) commentsRead more

Declaring Bankruptcy In Canada – A Last Resort

 25 Sep 2013
bankruptcy is last resort

As a bankruptcy trustee, I follow one simple philosophy that I discuss with every person I meet who is in financial trouble: Declaring bankruptcy in Canada is a last resort. How true is this? So much so that only 1 in 5 people who contact our firm for help end…

Leave a commentRead more

My Bank Account Was Frozen. Will Bankruptcy Help?

 23 Sep 2013
frozen bank account and bankruptcy

You need to pick up a few things on your way home so you stop at a bank machine to withdraw some cash, only the machine won’t let you make a withdrawal.  You step inside and the teller informs you that your bank account has been “frozen”.  What does that…

Leave a commentRead more

Second Time Bankruptcy. What Rules Apply?

 18 Sep 2013
bankruptcy canada

In Canada, about 15% of people that have filed for bankruptcy end up declaring bankruptcy a second time.  Since approximately 60,000 Canadians will be declaring bankruptcy this year that means 9,000 of them likely have done so before. The number of people filing second bankruptcies is large enough that in…

(36) commentsRead more

Bankruptcy and Payday Loans

 16 Sep 2013
Bankruptcy and Payday Loans

I want to start with a disclaimer – I really hate these guys. When we opened our bankruptcy practice in 1999 we saw very few payday loan companies. Then, within a couple of years, they started appearing on every file we saw. In 2005 we published a composite of the…

Leave a commentRead more

How Does A Joint Bankruptcy Filing Work?

 11 Sep 2013
joint bankruptcy filing and spouse

One of the most common questions posted to the internet chat groups about filing for personal bankruptcy in Canada has to do with spouses and whether or not if one files for bankruptcy, do they both have to. The short answer is no, each spouse is free to decide what…

(10) commentsRead more

Do I Have To Disclose My Spouse’s Salary For Surplus Income?

 04 Sep 2013

*Please note that this article has been updated with the 2017 surplus income limits Surplus income is calculated based on family income, so all members of the family disclose their income. If the husband is declaring bankruptcy but the wife is not going bankrupt, the husband is still supposed to…

(28) commentsRead more